A Master-crafted Late ’50s Les Paul Custom with a Tonewood Twist
The Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom electric guitar boasts a potent blend of vintage-accurate ’50s features, in addition to a smattering of performance upgrades for the modern guitarist. Instead of the all-mahogany build found on the originals, the 1957 Les Paul Custom features a beautiful AAAAA quilt maple top supported by an Ultra Light mahogany body, resulting in a 6-string you can comfortably sling onstage for hours. The neck’s ebony-topped-maple configuration features a later-era ’60 V3 Slim Taper profile that offers a lightning-fast feel when sliding up the fingerboard, especially when compared to the baseball-bat chunk found on many golden-era Les Pauls. All that being said, the 1957 Les Paul Custom’s tone is all vintage: a pair of CustomBucker humbuckers provide a spot-on replication of a true PAF pickup with a dynamism, warmth, and articulation you can’t find anywhere else. Iconic Les Paul Custom stylistic appointments tie it all together, with one major exception — an absolutely jaw-dropping Blue Widowburst finish that proudly displays every grain, figure, and line of the master-grade maple top.
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Top-of-the-line tonewoods
Since the early 1950s, the Les Paul Custom has served as Gibson’s premier single-cut solidbody, so it is no surprise that this 1957 Les Paul Custom sports a world-class configuration of top-of-the-line tonewoods. This guitar’s premium AAAAA quilt maple top — complete with a striking Blue Widowburst finish — sits atop a mahogany body handpicked for reduced weight. The result is an authoritative fundamental response with present top-end clarity. Simply put, it’s the epitome of tried-and-true Les Paul tone.
CustomBucker pickups deliver pure vintage PAF tone
Gibson Custom paid just as much attention to this guitar’s electronics as they did to its aesthetics. Every part of its internal signal path was designed to deliver unmistakable 1957 Les Paul tone. Of course, finding genuine ’50s PAFs (even for Gibson) is next to impossible. Instead, the 1957 Les Paul Custom sports a trio of Gibson’s CustomBucker humbuckers. The CustomBucker is the most historically accurate PAF copy ever. Take it from Sweetwater’s guitar experts: The Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom nails the look, sound, and feel of an original.
Speedy ’60 V3 Slim Taper neck profile
Designed for players who prefer a fast-playing neck instead of typical ’50s chunk, the Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom’s maple neck sports a ’60 V3 Slim Taper profile. From open-position rhythm work to upper-register lead lines, this easy-playing profile will impart your fretwork with an extra helping of speed and efficiency. It’s finished with a glassy ebony fingerboard, block mother-of-pearl inlays, and gold Grover Kidney tuners befitting the Les Paul Custom’s inherent aesthetic elegance.
Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar Features:
- A modernized twist on the classic 1950s Les Paul Custom formula, crafted by Gibson Custom’s finest luthiers
- Ultra Light mahogany body, topped with an eye-popping slab of AAAAA quilt maple
- Maple neck in a speedy ’60 V3 Slim Taper neck profile
- Elegant ebony fingerboard shaped into a Gibson-standard 12-inch radius for smooth bends up and down the fingerboard
- Dual CustomBuckers produce a replication of a true vintage-era Gibson PAF — they’re as close as you can get without hunting down a vintage example
- Gorgeous gloss nitrocellulose finish in a stunning Blue Widowburst stain
- Rock-solid Tune-o-matic hardtail bridge for enhanced sustain and tonal authority
- Iconic Les Paul Custom appointments abound, including block fingerboard inlays, double body binding, and split-diamond mother-of-pearl headstock inlays
- Gold Grover Kidney tuners give you top-class tuning reliability
